Juniper Research: Retailers will spend $55 billion every year on mobile marketing by 2015

Retailers are embracing mobile, big time. According to a new report from Juniper Research, their annual mobile marketing ad-spend will reach $55 billion by 2015. That’s almost double the $28 billion level expected this year.

The report found that the mass adoption of tablets created new opportunities for brands looking to enhance engagement with consumers. In that sense, ad-spend on both tablets and smartphones is continuing to grow strongly as retailers (notably in North America and Western Europe) migrate their own spend to digital in general, and mobile in particular.

Similarly, Juniper observed that mobiles were driving retail footfall through coupons, with discount offering mobile apps becoming an increasingly popular mechanism of distribution and coupon storage. Furthermore, the report highlighted the increasing trend towards the development of additional distribution channels relying on technologies like augmented reality and NFC as mobile becomes increasingly integrated into in-store retail strategies.

On the downside though, many retailers failed to optimize their sites for mobile browsing, registration or payment. That’s a must, as such sites allow buyers to comfortably interact with and buy directly from the store…